All Forum Posts by: Paul B.

For what it's worth, I had very good response with this.

And FYI, the most important thing in any direct-mail effort is the list.

In my opinion, whether you pay cash or finance should have little to do with what you're paying for the property -- or anything for that matter. I don't pay more for a car because I can borrow the money instead of paying cash.

And the 2% rule is not a "rule," per se, it's a guideline. There are some markets where you're just never going to get 2% per month in rents without taking your life in your hands. To say that you "overpaid" if you bought a duplex for $70K that rents for $1,000 a month is, again in my opinion, a generalization that should be avoided. Would it have been nicer to pay $50K? Yes, of course, but that doesn't mean it's realistic.

Each market is different. Each investor is different.

I'm not sure you're going to weed out the sellers you want to weed out. You say that you can pay all cash, so that's what many will want.

Can you really pay all cash? If not, then be specific about what you want and what you can do:

"Unlike some investors that want to low-ball you, I'm willing to pay full market value for your property -- IF you're willing to hold a note. You'd basically be trading a monthly rent check that may or may not come for a mortgage payment that will be there on the 1st of each month -- without repair or vacancy headaches!"

I might also attach a one-pager (all bullet points) on the benefits of holding a mortgage vs. being a landlord.

They also go through local REIAs. I got an email from a production company once where they asked if I was interested in having them follow me through a rehab. (I assumed they meant real estate.) The show was part of a series they did on one of the home/garden type channels.

Regrettably, I had just wrapped two rehabs and didn't have deal in the hopper, so I could not commit. Not sure I would have done it, anyway.

What's sad here is that if you Google the address, you can find this company pretty easily, and by all accounts, they appear to have something of a real, active business.

This Craigslist ad appears to be the work of someone who is perhaps trying to do some marketing for the business. Not saying that makes it any better, but the business itself appears to be better than the ad would make you think. Pity.

I think the termite damage in question is in a different part of the house than what was reported in the buyer's report.

This all appears to have been handled just a little sloppily. I'd tell them what you told us, that you did not disclose what you did not know, but you see their side and how they could assume that you were trying to cover this up.

Without having seen your contract, I'd offer them $500 as an act of good faith to avoid dragging this out. Make sure that they agree that they have no further claims in the future.

What "previous buyer?" Were you the seller for this previous buyer?

Did they kick out of their deal with you because of the results of the inspection? If so, didn't they say specifically why they were doing this?

As for the previous report, it's usually valid only for the one requesting and paying for it. I'm not sure they are allowed to use it for this purpose.

If they did their own inspection report, which it sounds like they did, shouldn't their inspector have found this termite damage? And if their own inspector didn't find it, why should they assume that you would know about it?

How much are they claiming in damages?

Just your name in the signature block.

I think the only time you need to write it all out is if you're an attorney-in-fact for someone/something else.

I always make it a practice to out the word "BY" next to my name as well, as well as "its". Business name all-caps, too.

ABC CORP., a Georgia corporation

BY:______________________________
Paul Broni
Its Imperial Grand Poobah

This makes it extra clear that the name and signature is not for me, personally.

I'll play Devil's Advocate, just for snicks.

Why should this be free? They are providing a service. If nobody ever asked for payoff statements, they would need fewer employees. Their costs are higher, so they seek out revenue to offset the cost. Issue?
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Aw, dangit -- I just looked at the date of the original post! Now I'm nothing but a filthy, low-down thread-bumper!